Nothing more homely than 'Corned Beef Pie'

I have a friend whose son lives in London and eats at expensive restaurants, but when he comes home to his Mum in Wales his food request is always corned beef pie. What is it about nursery food that brings out the soft side in grown men? Whatever it is, it is worth having a few nursery treats on hand to keep them satisfied. A bonus is that, uncooked, it freezes well.
So here is my recipe for the well loved pie.

The filling
1 tin of corned beef approx 350g
700g potatoes
1 onion
50g butter
salt and pepper

Chop the onion into small dice and fry in half the butter until golden.
Peel the potatoes and steam until soft. mash and put aside.
Cut the corned beef into  chunks and add to the warm potatoes along with the onion and the rest of the butter.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Allow the mixture to cool while you make the pastry. Do not be tempted to add hot mixture to the pastry as it will melt and be really difficult to work.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C

For the pastry:
300g plain flour, or you can use 100g wholemeal flour and 200g white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g butter
water
Salt and pepper

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the salt and pepper to taste. Don't add too much as corned beef can be salty.
Add sufficient water to the mixture to bring it together in a ball of pastry. Do not overwork as it will make your mix tough.

Line a metal dish with two thirds of the pastry. Add the corned beef mix and smooth the top.
|Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the mixture.
Trim any excess pastry and crimp the edges to seal.

Cook in a preheated oven yntil golden brown. This can take between 30 - 45 mins. Make sure that the underside is cooked.

Enjoy.
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